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Rarely-seen whale washes up on Massachusetts shore

A rarely-seen one-ton female whale washed up on the shores at Jones Beach in Plymouth, Massachusetts.

The 17-foot long whale weighing nearly 2,000 pounds has teeth and a very long and slender beak and is typically found in deep waters on the continental shelf of the north Atlantic feeding on squid and cod. Due to the maturity of the whale, they believe it to be seven or eight years of age, according to Daily Mail.

Biologists at the New England Aquarium are currently performing a necropsy at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

Executive director of the non-profit Whale and Dolphin Conservation led by Regina Asmutis-Silvia stated that they have not handled a beaked whale like this in nearly a decade. In fact this type of beaked whale is so rare, they have not been able to accurately find and make an accurate count of them.

Aquarium spokesman Tony Casse commented on the carcass saying that it “is fairly fresh and in good condition,” He also said that the whale did not have any obvious trauma from being struck by a vessel nor any entanglement gear or cuts or scars.

“It’s a glimpse into a habitat that’s not so far away, but it’s still a world away. They live in a world of their own,” Casse said.

At this time, biologists are studying the carcass to try and find out what may have caused the whale to have washed up on the rocks of the beach.

The International Fund for Animal Welfare believe that the whale is a Sowerby’s beaked whale. The last time they handled this specific type of whale was in 2006.

This type of whale, due to where it is normally found in nature, is often victim to commercial fisherman’s nets due to accidents.

Although biologists have expressed their sadness in finding a whale deceased on the shore, they will be taking advantage of the situation to learn more about this type of whale.